How to Get Your Message Across

How to Get Your Message Across

Writing in and of itself is not such a difficult thing. However, getting your point across or saying what you want to say can be much more difficult. Your point might make perfect sense to you, but if it doesn’t make sense to the reader, then all of your work was for nothing. Here are some tips to use to help get your message across when writing.

Write Simply

Using big words may make you feel more literate or like a better writer but it may be detrimental to getting your point across. Using smaller words that are more readily understood by most people in your target audience is much more important. Using larger words can cause people to misunderstand your point, and walk away from the article more confused than before they read it.

A good thing to note is that when it comes to writing articles or blog posts, it is better to write similar to the way you speak insofar as not using excessively long words and sentences. You may think that you need to be extremely formal when it comes to writing articles and this is true to a point, but you don’t have to be so formal that you lose touch with your audience. There is a way to be formal with your readers without sounding like a Victorian-era invitation to the ball.

Be Thorough

Try not to leave any questions unanswered. A good way to make sure of this is to anticipate the questions in the topic, or find frequent questions one may have about the topic. Doing this helps to cement your point in your writing, and gets people to truly understand what you are saying. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule such as when you want to lead the reader to another article, to have a series which people come back for and for them to contact you. Remember that a simple point left unwritten may lead people to respond to you and point out that omission – an excellent idea if writing for an online audience. Just make sure the article is not any less valuable without it.

When you have finished writing, go through the article at least 3 times, preferably with some time between each one. You would be amazed how easy it can be to leave out key points due to the fact you have had them going around in your head all day! Refer to the section on Organization below for additional advice on this.

Your Credibility

In the world of writing being credible is of absolute importance. Whether it is your own credibility and expertise, or that of people you are quoting, ensure that you have researched sufficiently to have all of the facts – especially dates, figures etc. This is a good way to convince people that you are credible as those who have researched their topic show that they care enough to be credible. Without this, your readers will not know when you are telling the truth and therefore whether they should trust you or not.

When posting online, it can be a good idea to link your post to similar related topics you have written before. This highlights the fact that you are not a newcomer to the field and affirms your status in the reader’s eyes.

Know Your Audience

How does your audience think? Knowing this will help you to get information that will not only entice your readers, but get them to truly listen. This can help you to see whether you want to take a more analytical approach to your writing, or a more relaxed position for when you are talking to a more layman audience.

A good way to know the audience is to determine where you plan on posting your content. This can differ based on whether you are posting to a large scale science magazine, if you are posting to a smaller news website or an informal blog. By identifying the majority of your audience by age, gender, location, education level and social status, you ensure that what you write is suitable for them and neither too simplistic or too complicated for them.

Your audience might be fickle, but they are not dumb, so focus on treating your readers as if they know the basics, but not to make it so complex that only professionals can accurately read the article. These are very simple ways to ensure that you make your point and your readers truly understand it.

Organization – The Real Key

When writing anything, organizing your thoughts, keeping them together and focused as well as laying them out in an intelligent fashion are vital to achieving a positive result.

Writer’s Blocks is a tool which allows you to bring all of your thoughts, inspiration, research, quotes and values together in one place and gives you the freedom to write better. The simple to use but invaluable software ensures your writing is always organized and put together properly without forgetting your key points.